Media Death Toll Reaches 28 under PGMA
Baguio reporters unite vs. killings

“When journalists are killed one after another, it is certain that people from other sectors have been killed already,” said Inday Espina-Varona, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

By MILENA E. ROQUE
Northern Dispatch

Posted by Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY – “The past few weeks were not marked with good news for working journalists like us,” remarked media workers of Baguio and Benguet as they gathered Nov. 29 for the first local congress of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). This, after the death toll of journalists under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s watch reached 28.

“But we are not going to stop with a single point of lamentation on how our situation has become, because today is also an opportune time for us to talk about how we are going to fight the injustices and how we are going to unite to live to the ideals of press freedom,” said Desiree Caluza, reporter for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and officer of the NUJP Baguio-Benguet chapter.

Worst year for Philippine media

2004 has so far been the worst ever for Filipino journalists. Thirteen were killed during the first 11 months of this year, totaling to 61 since Marcos’ overthrow in 1986.

The latest victim, Allan Dizon, a photojournalist of The Freeman and Banat News, died from two gunshot wounds on Nov. 27 at the Cebu Medical Center. Witnesses reported that Dizon was shot by an unidentified assailant at a public place, the SM City Mall. He was the fourth to die in just a month, preceded by Gene Boyd Lumawag of MindaNews in Jolo, Herson Hinolan of Bombo Radyo in Kalibo, Aklan, and Stephen Umawis of the Guru Community News Weekly in Tabuk, Kalinga.

Umawis was abducted Nov. 26, and found dead Dec. 1 by local residents in the premises of the Tabuk Central School. His family barely recognized him, his face having been severely mutilated and skull cracked.

With these killings, the Philippines is dubbed the most dangerous place for journalists in the world, second only to Iraq. This, however, was denied by Malacañang. According to the NUJP, AFP Chief of Staff Efren Abu said that there is press freedom in the country and that the murders are only “isolated cases.”

Despite Malacañang’s denials, the series of murders of journalists remains a disturbing trend and international groups around the world have expressed their concern, from the International Federation of Journalists to the UNESCO.

Not limited to the press

NUJP national president Inday Espina-Varona said during the NUJP-BB Congress that the attacks against the press do not exist in a vacuum – these attacks are in the same context of the worsening human rights situation in the country.

“When journalists are killed one after another, it is certain that people from other sectors have been killed already,” Varona added.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines reported that 10 lawyers were killed this year, all of them handling “very controversial cases involving very powerful individuals.” An undetermined number of anti-corruption advocates in towns and 14 human rights activists have likewise been reported killed this year.

A lot of suspects are, alarmingly, practicing and retired or absent-without-official-leave law enforcers. With this, Varona said, we must admit the breakdown of law and order in this country.  As public servants, the media have become target. This, the NUJP said, is the worst form of censorship.

International fact-finding mission

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the global organization representing over 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries, will send a delegation of journalists and officials to the country in early January. The mission will go to the most affected provinces and meet with senior government officials to discuss the culture of impunity that appears to be responsible for the rising death toll of journalists. 

For their part, the elected council of NUJP-BB resolved to exhaust all possible actions to demand justice for their slain colleagues. They also plan to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine National Police this month to ensure the safety of journalists and keep them from any form of harassment. Nordis / Posted by Bulatlat 

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